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Elvis Presley/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby. A robot, Moby, wears an Elvis-style black wig and a brown T-shirt that reads, "Elvis Lives". A boy, Tim, is next to him. TIM: I didn't know you were such a huge Elvis fan, Moby. MOBY: Beep. Moby crosses his arms and looks indignant. TIM: You're his number one fan? Okay. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Who was Elvis and why is he so famous? From, Mary Ann. TIM: Elvis Presley was an enormously popular musician, actor, and icon of the 20th century. An image shows Elvis Presley in a white suit jacket singing into a microphone. TIM: He's considered one of the first rock and roll artists. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, he wasn't the first. Musicians like Bill Haley and Big Joe Turner recorded what some people consider rock and roll songs shortly before Elvis became popular. Side-by-side images show Bill Haley and Big Joe Turner. TIM: But before Elvis came along, popular music was dominated by jazz and crooners singing love songs. He may not have invented rock and roll, but Elvis made it popular and defined its look and attitude. No one had ever seen anyone perform music the way he did. He had some pretty shocking moves for that time. He had a real stage presence and a unique sound. An image shows Elvis Presley performing in a blue jacket. He is kneeling dramatically on the stage. TIM: Elvis was one of the pioneers of rockabilly, a combination of country and blues that was the earliest form of rock and roll. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, he listened to a lot of country, blues, and gospel music when he was young, which blended into a unique musical style. Side-by-side images each show musician country singer playing the banjo, a blues musician strumming a guitar, and an enthusiastic gospel singer wearing a robe. TIM: Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1935, during the Great Depression. A U.S. map shows Tupelo, Mississippi, toward the northeast corner of the state. TIM: His family didn't have a whole lot of money, but when he was eleven he got a guitar for his birthday. An image shows Elvis's parents watching a smiling Elvis holding his birthday guitar. TIM: At thirteen, Elvis and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, which is where he first began listening to blues and gospel music. A U.S. map animation shows a dotted line from Tupelo to Memphis, which is in the southwest of Tennessee. TIM: He hung around blues musicians as he grew older, picking up their style and technique. An image shows Elvis holding his guitar while he watches a blues musician play a guitar. TIM: After he graduated from high school, Elvis became a truck driver. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it's hard to picture Elvis driving a truck, but everyone has to start somewhere! An animation shows Elvis driving an electric company truck. TIM: Anyway, he wasn't a truck driver for long. In 1953, he stopped in a new recording studio called Sun Records to make a recording for his mother's birthday. An image shows Elvis at the door of the Sun Records studio. TIM: A year later, the owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, asked Elvis to come in as a stand-in for a missing singer. When they had stopped recording, Phillips heard Elvis playing a blues song called, That's All Right. It was just the sound Phillips had been looking for. An image shows Elvis singing in a recording booth as Sam Phillips peers through the window with a smile. TIM: That song became Elvis' first single, and only two days later it was on the radio and an instant hit. An image shows the vinyl record for the song. TIM: Elvis was only 19 at the time. An image shows Elvis performing. TIM: Elvis got a new manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who helped make him famous pretty quickly. An image shows Elvis with his manager, Tom Parker. MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, he wasn't a real colonel. That was just a nickname. An image shows Tom Parker. TIM: Parker made sure Elvis's face was everywhere, from television, to movies, and even on household products, like plates! Images show Elvis in the formats Tim describes. TIM: His performances on Ed Sullivan, and other variety shows, were big hits. An image shows Elvis with Ed Sullivan on Sullivan's television show. TIM: And he followed up his early successes with more hit records. Songs like Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes, and Jailhouse Rock earned him the nickname of The King of Rock and Roll, or just, The King. An image shows Elvis performing. TIM: After serving in the army for a couple of years, Elvis stopped doing live performances and concentrated on making movies. His popularity declined as newer bands from England took over the rock scene. An image shows the British band the Beatles. TIM: But in the late 1960s, Elvis returned to his first love, performing a series of concerts on television and across the United States. An image shows Elvis performing. TIM: Toward the end of his career in the 1970s, he recorded some gospel albums and won three Grammys. People think all that fame really got to Elvis as he reached his late thirties. An animation shows Elvis performing with blinking lights that spell Elvis behind him. He is wearing a white jumpsuit with gold detailing. TIM: He became reclusive, avoiding the spotlight in his Memphis estate, Graceland. An image shows Elvis at Graceland. TIM: During this time, Elvis also became dependent on drugs. He performed his last concert in June of 1977. Two months later, he died of a heart attack that was likely caused by chronic drug use. An image shows Elvis at his last performance. Text on the screen shows his birth and death dates, 1935 and 1977. TIM: His fame only grew after his death. Graceland is now a museum and national historic landmark that hundreds of thousands of people visit every year. An animation shows a tour bus pulling up to Graceland. TIM: From around the world, people flock to pay their respects to the man who reshaped our culture. Even Moby! An animation image shows people visiting Graceland, including Moby, who is dressed like Elvis. MOBY: Beep.Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts